Piles after birth...give me hope 😭

[RD15]

Hey,

Well I’m 3 days in after giving birth and I’m suffering terribly with external piles- at least 5 and 1 of them is monstrous. The pain is unbelievable, they’re so unsightly and distressing. Way worse than stitches!

I went to the doctors and they gave me a steroid ointment with a local anaesthetic in it but it’s not touching the pain or the piles at this point.

Please tell me it will get better...

Sorry to hear you’ve suffered for that long. I’ve never suffered with them before pregnancy and generally (touch wood) never suffer with my digestive system. But I can definitely see that diet can be an issue.

There’s been lots of tears today. I’ve resolved to just not look for a while to avoid distressing myself xx

rd15 normal piles are not like external thrombosed ones! I had one like that once and I could barely sit down and it didn't leave a skin tag despite being bloody enormous! When that has gone you will feel a lot better. The doctor told me a thrombosed external pile is one of the most painful things you can have. You will probably feel a lot better once that has gone. Took mine about 7-10 days x

@DaffoDeffo, yes it is incredibly painful all the time. Even just walking down the stairs. Thanks for that reassurance- just what I needed this morning.
I seriously forgot how challenging this newborn + physical recovery is. However, little man is doing well and that’s the main thing (even if I’m dropping to bits!) xx

So sorry to hear you're going through this OP.
I'm no stranger to piles unfortunately, but I've found that Vaseline before going to the toilet as a previous OP suggested and then Sudocrem afterwards just works wonders!
I have two external ones and had them so badly earlier this year, even the prescription strength cream couldn't help, it was misery!
After the Vaseline and sudocrem combo, I've been much, much, better, they're hardly bothering me at 22 weeks pregnant and on 3x iron tablets a day!
Congratulations and I hope you feel better soon. x

Apple cider vinegar in warm bath. Don't know why but it worked for me.

@Mylittlepony374 - Does that work for you?? I would have thought that would sting like hell!!? Although I do use Apple Cider Vinegar in a face mask mix and know it's beneficial in reducing blemishes swelling and redness...so can see the logic... ??

(Think I may try a watered down cotton wool dab first!!) Thanks for the tip though! :)

@tadda, someone told me to dab it straight on with cotton wool but that seemed like it would be horrifically painful so I put a good "glug" in the bath a couple times a day & it definitely helped.

Thanks for the tip 👍. Is it a case of once you’ve had them, you’re vulnerable to getting them again? I did have a mild case after my daughter but had no further issues until this pregnancy. However, those ones didn’t cause me any pain and I didn’t even know they were there until the doctor pointed it out when examining my ruptured episiotomy stitches 🙈 xx

don't do anything while you've got that external thrombosed pile as that is like the pile from the devil incarnate

wait till that has gone then get some proper cream for the 'normal' piles from the GP and it should feel a lot better

and congratulations on your baby! I should have said that first of all. You sound like you are doing brilliantly

OMG - i had this after both births. Absolutely the worse part of it all for me - despite ECS the first time and no pain relief the second time!!!

It did take a while to recover from and the pain was immense. I cried everytime I went to the toilet.

Good news it did go away in the end. Plenty of water and prune juice helped keep things soft!!! I really sympathise with you.

I think the pushing in labour is what caused them as I never had them during the actual pregnancy or at other times.

@DaffoDeffo, it certainly is the devil incarnate! 😂😂.

Thanks everyone- it’s reassured me that things will get better (eventually). I definitely think this has been the worst part of the whole pregnancy/birth! Xx

As a wise woman once said to me-

There are two types of people in this world OP: people who've got piles, and people who are going to get piles.

Good advice upthread. As your body recovers there will be less pressure on everything and your bum will start to pull back together. I found extending my pelvic floor exercises around the back really helped.

Thanks for the advice @catpyjama. I actually read that about the pelvic floor exercises, so I have been trying to do that xx